Sipp and wrap growth help Standard’s profits surge 28%

Standard Life has recorded a 28 per cent increase in UK pre-tax operating profit for the first six months of 2013, from £126m last year to £161m this year, driven by a rise in profit from new fee-based business.

The provider’s results for the first half of the year, published today, reveal a surge in UK profit levels post-RDR.

Profit from Standard’s fee-based retail products, such as wrap and Sipps, increased 48 per cent, from £25m to £37m, while profit from what it describes as ”old-style fee business” increased from £90m last year to £91m this year.

The number of adviser firms now using Standard Life’s wrap proposition increased 10 per cent, from 1,087 to 1,192.

However, the provider’s corporate pensions business suffered a 30 per cent drop in net flows, from £763m to £534m, driven by “expected outflows” from schemes secured on a commission basis by rival providers prior to the implementation of the RDR.

Standard Life has proposed an interim dividend of 5.22p on the back of the results, up 6.5 per cent from 4.90p last year.

Standard Life chief executive UK & Europe Paul Matthews says: “We were well prepared for the regulatory changes introduced over the last year in the UK and we’re starting to see the results we anticipated.

“The retail distribution review has played to the strengths of the advisers we do business with and we have also been able to open our doors to a broader range of advisers.

“Overall, Standard Life’s UK business continues to perform very well and we remain excited about the opportunities we see in the year ahead.”

Standard Life group chief executive David Nish says: “Standard Life has made really good progress in the first half of the year, delivering substantial growth in sales, flows and assets, all driving higher revenues and operating profits.”

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